Newspaper
credit union to
service other media

Star-Bulletin staff

The credit union serving the employees of Honolulu's two daily newspapers is looking to expand its customer base just as the dailies have gone their separate ways.

The Hawaii Newspaper Association Federal Credit Union recently obtained approval from the National Credit Union Administration to expand its membership to employees of local television stations, radio stations, magazines and other media, according to Drake Tanabe, the credit union's manager.

The administration is the federal agency that regulates credit unions nationwide.

The credit union also will change its name to the Media Hawaii Federal Credit Union, pending approval from the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Tanabe said he expects the state approval to come within the next month.

"We are looking to widen our membership to all media," Tanabe said.

The 64-year-old credit union has assets of about $10 million and lists 1,900 members, which includes current and former employees of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Honolulu Advertiser and their relatives. Its offices are in the Honolulu Advertiser building on Kapiolani Boulevard.

In addition to checking and savings accounts, the HNA credit union offers certificates of deposit, ATM services, car loans and home equity loans.

The changes come after the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser last month terminated the joint operating agreement in which the two dailies shared printing, distribution and advertising operations but kept editorial functions separate.

Gannett Co., owner of the Advertiser, dissolved the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, which oversaw the joint operating agreement, after Liberty sold the Star-Bulletin to Oahu Publications Inc. on March 15.